Sulfate reduction in the salt marshes at Sapelo Island, Georgia1

Sulfate reduction rates were measured in stands of Spartina dternijh-a at Sapelo Island, Georgia, in November 1980 by injecting tracer amounts of ‘%04’- into cores, incubating overnight, and analyzing for the incorporation oi ‘% into reduced sulfur compounds. Qualitatively, sulfate reduction in the Georgia marsh is very similar to that in the Massachusetts marshes we have studied: FeS, (pyrite or marcasite) is the major end product. Lesser amounts of soluble sulfides, iron monosulfides, and elemental sulfur are also formed. The rate of sulfate reduction (determined by the same method) is significantly lower during November in Georgia than in the Great Sippewissett Marsh in Massachusetts, 0.090 vs. 0.27 moles S042-*m--2* cl-l in stands of short Spartina. The lower rates in Georgia may reflect a lower rate of organic carbon input by belowground production. Sulfate reduction appears to be the major form of respiration in the sediments of salt marshes in Georgia as well as in Massachusetts.

[1]  R. Howarth,et al.  Pyrite and oxidized iron mineral phases formed from pyrite oxidation in salt marsh and estuarine sediments , 1982 .

[2]  B. L. Howes,et al.  Oxidation‐reduction potentials in a salt marsh: Spatial patterns and interactions with primary production1 , 1981 .

[3]  P. Ljungdahl,et al.  Technique for Simultaneous Determination of [35S]Sulfide and [14C]Carbon Dioxide in Anaerobic Aqueous Samples , 1981 .

[4]  R. Howarth,et al.  Sulfate reduction in a New England salt marsh1 , 1979 .

[5]  W. Wiebe,et al.  Arylsulfatase Activity in Salt Marsh Soils , 1979, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[6]  J. L. Gallagher,et al.  UNDERGROUND BIOMASS PROFILES AND PRODUCTIVITY IN ATLANTIC COASTAL MARSHES , 1979 .

[7]  W. Wiebe,et al.  Sulfate reduction rates in Georgia marshland soils , 1979 .

[8]  W. Wiebe,et al.  Resistance of the Microbial Community within Salt Marsh Soils to Selected Perturbations , 1978 .

[9]  W. Wiebe,et al.  Methane release from soils of a Georgia salt marsh , 1978 .

[10]  R. Christian,et al.  Anaerobic microbial community metabolism in Spartina alterniflora soil 1, 2 , 1978 .

[11]  B. F. Taylor,et al.  Sulfate reduction and methanogenesis in marine sediments , 1978 .

[12]  R. Wetzel,et al.  Detritus in the Lake Ecosystem , 1978, The American Naturalist.

[13]  D. A. Munson Simplified method for the determination of acid-soluble sulfides in marine sediments , 1977 .

[14]  D. Rickard Kinetics and mechanism of pyrite formation at low temperatures , 1975 .

[15]  E. R. Allen,et al.  The Sulfur Cycle , 1972, Science.

[16]  R. Berner Sedimentary pyrite formation , 1970 .

[17]  J. Hobbie,et al.  RESPIRATION CORRECTIONS FOR BACTERIAL UPTAKE OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC COMPOUNDS IN NATURAL WATERS1 , 1969 .

[18]  W. Reeburgh AN IMPROVED INTERSTITIAL WATER SAMPLER1 , 1967 .

[19]  J. Teal,et al.  Gas Exchange in a Georgia Salt MARSH1 , 1961 .